Immerse yourself in the whimsical universe of Wes Anderson films at the Cinémathèque

From March 19 to July 27, 2025, place at the first exhibition dedicated to the director of The Grand Budapest Hotel.

In a sensory experience Unique, the exhibition of the Cinémathèque française opens the doors of a Andersonian trip to us. Between costumes,, shooting photos And accessoriesthe public is invited to the heart of the creative process of Wes Anderson. With pastel color shades and carefully chosen extracts, it is an unprecedented immersive experience. The American filmmaker reveals all his secrets there, hidden in his notebooks and its sets. Thought in chronologically, the exhibition of the Cinémathèque leads us to explore all the influences that participated in the creation of this imaginary world.

Surrounded by bright red walls that rush through the visit, the spectator rediscovers the stories of Wes Anderson. Through themes that bring together several works whose behind the scenes, the multitudes of emblematic objects in his films are available to the public. The exhibition opens on its first long Bottle Rocket (a short film originally) which had seduced the director of FreedMartin Scorsese.

Burlesque characters with touching stories

Andersonian cinema is characterized by rather extravagant characters. The Cinémathèque celebrates this eccentricity through the exposed costumes. Of the famous fur coat of Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) with red tracksuit adidas from Chas (Ben Stiller) via the famous Ratwlad Hat of Sat (Jared Gilman), the figures of the filmmaker are colorful and that’s what makes them endearing.

In a kind of Teen moviehis first films explore the questions of adolescence, rebellion and the transition to adulthood. In Rushmore,, The Tenenbaum family or even Kingdom moonrisethe American filmmaker is interested in the family entity Through disputes, everyone’s place and nostalgia. The first steps of the exhibition make us discover the drawings that inspired his first characters and his first stories. An extract from Rushmore and The Tenenbaum family Animates the background of the play creating an immersive hearing experience in addition to the discovery of notebooks, unpublished posters and a multitude of shooting photos.

Wes Anderson: “I like this troop idea”

Place Road Movies in which the characters undertake a trip rich in adventures and introspection. Plunged into the staging of Aquatic lifethe spectator rediscovers the unprecedented expedition of the oceanographic team aboard the large yellow submarine. Funny fish mingle with the famous red cap of Steve Zissou (Bill Murray). The magnificent model of Darjeeling Limited This time transports us to India behind the scenes of the film. Emblematic suitcases lugged by the three brothers with Rita costume, all the accessories are there. These road movies are also characteristic of the cinematic universe of Wes Anderson with a feeling of nostalgia very present in his art. As they expected, the characters evolve mentally in a powerful introspection. Another theme widely discussed by Wes Anderson is the flight. Kingdom moonrise This is the perfect example, although he adds a good dose of adventures. Through shades of bluish colors put in perspective in the paintings of the cove, the letters of the adolescents displayed on the walls of the exhibition tell us their fugue in love a second time.

The last pieces of the exhibition depict the world’s more recent films of the filmmaker. With a large railroad and a variety of covers from imaginary magazine The French Dispatchthe director shares his inspirations and more precisely his passion for the New Yorker whose numbers he has collected since he was a student. The photographs of real journalists who inspired the characters in the film are also exhibited. Asteroid City is a real immersion in America from the 1950s. This work brings together a cult casting From Wes Anderson with whom he has been collaborating for years: Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola, Anjelica Huston, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody…

In its exhibition, the Cinémathèque does not fail to highlight the way in which the characters of Wes Anderson have both a foot in reality and in the fantastic, achieving the feat of make the imagination credible.

A precise and colorful aesthetics specific to the Andersonian cinema

What would an exhibition on Wes Anderson be without making his visual aesthetics shine? As in a doll house where dozens of trinkets intertwine, the precise symmetry Caitant to these works contributes to making the exhibition as pleasant as its films. The sets made available recall a theatrical appearanceomnipresent in his staging. The Cinémathèque also plays on bright colors and pastel. Without forgetting the retro tones of the 1970s. These nuances made the experience visual particularly striking. Without creating an unpleasant glare effect, the colors remain condensed among the themes and costumes covered over the visit, creating a certain harmony. A purple outfit for the boy lobby and a candy pink theme, which we find in The Grand Budapest Hotelcelebrate an astonishing graphics dominated by an atmosphere rich in color.

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The most Francophile of filmmakers has also launched in the stop motion With two emblematic works of his filmography: Fantastic Mr. Fox And Dog Island. Its rigorous aesthetics is all the more visible through the exhibition of its figurines. With the details of the production methods, spectators rediscover their favorite animated films and behind the scenes of their manufacture. Within a staging of meticulous puppets, image by image, creating a slightly vintage jerky effect, the director explores serious subjects while retaining his legendary absurdity perfectly dosed. The miniature sets and puppets are scrupulously manufactured, with different sizes in order to juggle between various plans. These plasticine plasticine figurines are shaped from conceptual illustrations by a team of English artists. Thanks to them, the molds are created and allow the copies to be multiplied.

In Aquatic lifeWes Anderson and his team entirely imagined the marine fauna with extravagant creaturesrich in colors: Lajaguar shark, zebra fish, rainbow hippocampus … the visual of The French Dispatch reminiscent of the Fcomic book is just as captivating. The director’s way of filming is also celebrated. Between long tracks And Slow motions accompanied by musicemotion seizes the story in meticulous surrealism. The accessories exhibited at the Cinémathèque occupy a place of choice in each story, give life to the story and help to create a link with the viewer.

Let us not forget the music that punctuates the tales of Wes Anderson, shaping the emotions of the characters in an often nostalgic atmosphere. She is also the source of mythical scenes. Whether through characters who listen to some notes, Hey Jude In The Tenenbaum family or a cover of David Bowie in There Aquatic lifemusic is everywhere.

A universe strongly influenced by European culture

During the visit, it is impossible to miss the place occupied by European culture in the filmmaker’s works. The choice of the Cinémathèque as the first place of exhibition is not trivial. He notably highlights the importance of Henri Langlois in his “film education”. In addition to his overflowing imagination, the inspirations that shape his style are found in books and in particular in the accounts of European authors. Stefan Zweig inspired him the history of Large Budapest Hotel And Roald Dahlwhich he read small, created the universe of his first animated film, Fantastic Mr. Foxor the series of short films he made for Netflix. But this inspiration is also found in the configuration of these stories: Chapitrated films With an abyss of a novel in a film thanks to emblematic opening scenes.

Attached to The new waveWes Anderson’s filmography is notably influenced by French cinema. Filmmakers like Lubitsch,, Truffle or Bodard participated in the creation of its universe. European influence is also visible through His sets. It is the interior of a former Görlitz shopping center in Germany that inspired the decor of The Grand Budapest Hotel. The French Dispatch is shot in Angoulême in an imaginary village called Énui-sur-Blasé and, once again, Wes Anderson is inspired by a Paris From the 1950s and 60s, a city he has always carried in his heart.

The exhibition gives access to unique and central pieces of certain director’s films, often linked to European culture. We find in particular suitcases emblematic of Darjeeling Limitedthe fruit of collaboration with the brand Louis Vuitton. Without forgetting the famous Birkin by Margot Tenenbaum.

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It is also through the camera Jacques Henri Lartigue May Wes Anderson draw his inspiration. The Cinémathèque exhibits some of his works and points to the tribute to him by the Francophile filmmaker in the opening scene of Rushmore : The main character Max Fischer is seated in a classroom and contemplates the artist’s photographs. Photographer French favorite French, he does not fail to show him a second time his admiration in Aquatic life whose name of the main character is inspired by Maurice, the brother of Lartigue, nicknamed Zissou.

Finally, European music is omnipresent in Wes Anderson’s films and the Cinémathèque did not fail to mention it. The exhibition returns to his long -standing collaboration with the French composer Oscarized Alexandre Desplat who accompanied Wes Anderson on all his feature films since Fantastic Mr Fox. Partitions are scattered all over the course of the visit. Between Joe Dassin, Christophe or even Françoise Hardythe references are numerous. The latter’s vinyl, embarked by Sam as he prepares his fugue in Kingdom moonrisedo not fail to be among the exhibited parts. Projected on a screen, Sam and Suzy (Kara Hayward) celebrate their iconic scene through this famous dance on The time of love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jalnapyx3ru

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